Getting excited about short stories in the UK & Ireland – in print, online & live!!

Tag Archives: flash

The deadline is fast approaching for poetry and prose submissions to Words for the Wild’s print anthology. If you have something to say about the wild spaces and places in your life, whether they’re deeply rural, in the middle of a city or somewhere in between, we’d love to hear from you.

All submissions received before midnight on 28th February 2018 will be considered for inclusion in the anthology. Submissions received after this date will still be considered for publication on the website.

From stolen kisses to cartoon crushes, telltale spirits to synaesthetic lovers, via vengeful exes and Powerpoint presentations, Liars’ League is showcasing tales of lust, romance & betrayal in our dirt-dishing Valentine’s special – and our first event of 2018 – on Tuesday 13th February (click here for Facebook event with full details).

Forget the pink roses as our actors bare their hearts (and more) for just £5 on the door, which includes a programme, entry to our sexy book quiz, and of course all the Lovehearts you can eat. (And if you’re single, just tell us your favourite literary character and we’ll find your perfect match – see below for more …)

As always, doors open at 7pm and the show begins at 7.30. Seductive drinks and food will be available at the bar, and the infamous interval quiz will feature fabulous free books to be won! There’s no pre-booking, but tables for fouror more can be reserved by calling 07808 939535.

Single? Sign up for our #LoveLit Blind DateEver wondered if Lizzie Bennet would hook up with Christian Grey? Whether Harry Flashman could charm Hermione Granger? Then we’ve got something for you this Valentine’s eve! Our #LoveLit Blind Date is simple: just emailliars@liarsleague.com (or tweet us @liarsleague, hashtag #LoveLit) with your name, age, preferred gender of date & the name of your favourite fictional character, and we’ll match you up with someone else’s favourite. Not only might you find the love of your life, you’ll also get free sweeties and a night of brilliant stories to enjoy with your new squeeze into the bargain.

(NB: you don’t have to join in the blind date to come, it’s just a service we’re offering singles this month. As ever, anyone who loves stories is welcome.)

Happy New Year from the editors of The A3 Review. We’re looking forward to another year of inspiration. There are still a couple more themes – Losing It and Brief Encounters – till we start putting together Issue 8 (The Gold Issue). For prompts and more details, click here to visit our Submittable page.

And already the work on Issue 9 has begun, too… the new themes for Issue 9 (The Circle Issue) are up on our Submittable page. Check out our monthly contests and send us your flash fiction, poetry and artwork inspired by thieves, guitars, wheels, and the moon. We hope you’ll enjoy the new prompts and that they’ll inspire you to try out new themes in your work.

The prompt for this month’s A3 Review contest is: Gold Things. We suggest writing about all that gliters and is gold. Submit flash fiction, brief essays and poems about lost wedding rings, edible gold leaf and hidden gold bullion. Tell the story of a heist in 150 words, or write a poem about a heist gone wrong. Tell the story of a day in the life of a detectorist. Write the story behind the gold medal you won, or almost won, or wish you’d won.

You could explore different idioms with “gold” in them: a heart of gold, good as gold, silence is golden. Write about rainbows and what’s at the end of them. You could write a non-fiction piece about the brutal reality of gold mines. Tell the story of a person looking back at the golden age of their life, or make it your story.

As always, The A3 Review welcomes short stories, flash fiction, poetry, comics, graphic stories, a snippet of memoir, photographs, illustrations, and any combination of the above. The only restriction is a word-limit of 150 and images should fit well into an A6 panel.

One of the fun aspects of putting together The A3 Review is coming up with the themes and prompts for each month’s contest. This month’s theme is particularly rich. One of those themes that you really need an entire novel to tackle, and we’re inviting you to do it in no more than 150 words! Betrayal. In 12-and-a-half dozen words or less. Do not betray your risk-taking disposition as a writer and an artist! This month’s theme is for you.

We’re looking for stories, poems and artwork that are political, personal or both. Secret betrayals and double crossings. From the banal to the Biblical. Write the Samson story from Delilah’s POV, for example. Or: What would Judas say? Write a poem about feeling betrayed by someone’s Tinder profile. He, or she, is definitely not as cute in real life!

Or tell the story of the first time you betrayed someone. What happened and where is that person today? Put into words what it feels like to be betrayed. Or what it tastes like, smells like. Write a poem of rage or forgiveness. Possible opening phrases could be: “We knew we’d been betrayed when…” or “This is how I betrayed him…” or “Just before she did it she…” or “It wasn’t the first time that…”

Click here for more prompts, suggestions, and details about how to enter this month’s contest. Deadline is the 28th of October. There’s also info here about the next few contests. If you think “Betrayal” is a juicy one, then there’s “Losing It” and “Brief Encounters” coming up, too.

When you enter our contests, don’t forget our popular (and very affordable) Brief Critique option. For just $15 we provide a line edit of your submission, along with 250 words of feedback on ways to take your work to the next level. Tick the Brief Critique add-on, and you’ll be able to pay together with your entry fee. Critiques are provided once the month’s winning entries have been announced.

Hello dear readers!
Just a quick one this time.
Here at Bunbury Magazine we are, once again open for submissions! Want to find out how or what our guidelines are? Take a look at our Submit To Us section on our webpage.
This time, we’ve gone for the theme of ‘The Hunt’. We hope this will be a lot of fun so feel free to use it as a prompt but as always, we’re looking forward to seeing all of the different interpretations.
Also in the this issue will be the interviews from all of the fantastic performers we met at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!
Haven’t had a chance to read our last issue yet? Take a look here at issue 16 it’s packed full of the good stuff.

We hope to hear from you soon!
Get Scribbling,
Christopher & Keri,
Bunbury Magazine